Vacations a time to eat and eat and eat

Sunday

Jun 20, 2004 at 12:01 AM

Our Guests from the West have departed for their home in Arizona and the house is quiet for the time being.Bill's brother Dan, a retired policeman, and our sister-in-law, Jodie, were with us for nearly three weeks. It was a test to see if we can stand each other on a long-term basis.They hate the heat so are thinking about coming to live with us for a couple of months next year. We like to spend time with them in the dreary months of January and February. We were very compatible and have decided an arrangement like that could work in the future.Besides just hanging out together around here, we went on a little trip to the northeastern part of the country. They could not get over how green it is here and how much water there is everywhere. Jodie is originally from Jamestown, N.Y., so she was excited when we drove through that area.We took U.S. 30 east and picked up Route 44 north to avoid all the traffic around Cleveland. Breakfast was acceptable at Candle's Kitchen in Marlboro Township. We had a rest stop at Lady Bug Landing in Findley Lakes, N.Y., near Peak'n Peak ski resort. Everything in the place had to do with lady bugs except the apricot scones, which were delicious. It was the beginning of a decadent week of eating, eating and more eating! Lunch was at a Mexican place in Allegheny, N.Y., followed by a rest stop complete with Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream bars. That was right after we viewed the beautiful Montour Falls near Watkins Glenn.We drove along Senaca Lake, through Waterloo N.Y., the birthplace of Memorial Day, and Seneca Falls, the birthplace of the Women's Rights Movement. We spent the first night at a Microtel Inn in Auburn, N.Y., in the Finger Lakes area. There was only one non-smoking room available, but since it had two queen beds the guys somehow managed to sweet talk the desk clerk into giving it to us for the single rate of $54 for the four of us. What a deal! We had dinner at Dawts, just around the corner. Our waitress was very curt after we ordered inexpensive things like bowls of soup and simple salads.She didn't know how much we had already eaten that day! Maybe she was afraid her tip would be small as a result. Instead it was small because she was uppity. After a little breakfast at the hotel the next morning, we were off. It took us all day to reach our destination of Burlington, Vt. It was a very nice drive across the Adirondacks. We started looking for moose because there were roads signs posted everywhere, but no moose were to be found. We stopped for lunch at the Hillside Cafe, a very friendly place. We just ordered hamburgers because we weren't very hungry. They each turned out to be about a half pound of beef that hung out all sides of the bun. We could have all shared one and been better off.The next time we go this way we will plan to stop in Lake Placid, site of the 1980 winter Olympics. But, since we were in danger of missing the Port Kent ferry across Lake Champlain to Burlington, we had to press on. The $25 ferry ride was fun. The lake was smooth and the sun was shining. The men had an interesting conversation with a cop from Long Island.We arrived at son Ethan's just in time to go out to dinner at Three Tomatoes on Burlington's pedestrian mall. The ravioli was memorable. More next week about our northeastern adventure.